Rewards of Dilligence
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Trip down Memory Lane. An archived story I'm bringing back.
1. Chapter 1

**_Rewards of Dilligence_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Yuu Watase, so don't sue me.<em>**

* * *

><p><em>YAWN<em>

Geeze, there's nothing to do, Tasuki thought irritated. He was currently seated on the roof of his hideout at Mt. Leikaku, tapping his tessen impatiently on the tile beneath him.

The raids had been less than satisfactory as of late, mostly due to his lack of interest. For some reason it just wasn't fun sacking villages anymore.

He scowled angrily at his tessen, as if it held the reason for his melancholy state of mind. _Damn it! Things just aren't the same anymore!_ Though he would never had admitted it to anyone, Tasuki missed the wild romps that he had participated in being one of the Shichiseishi. Even though he usually got the brunt of the jokes, he missed Tamahome beating him up, and Taitsu-kun whacking him every time he said something stupid.

_Why the hell do you miss that?_ He thought, surprised at himself. _You were the one who always ended up getting bashed against the wall! It's certainly better for your health that you aren't a part of it anymore!_

But still...for some reason his life was now very boring.

_I wonder where Chichiri went off to? Damn monk's always disappearing right when things die down and start getting dull...he should stick around more._

Staring out across the mountains, he felt a sudden pulse of loneliness set in. Yeah, sure he was back here, back to his normal life now that everything was over, and Miaka and Taka had returned home, and the other Seishi had gone on to their new lives, but then he should be glad all the chaos was over, shouldn't he?

So why did things just not feel right anymore?

"Hey, fang boy! What are you doing moping around up here?"

He turned at the sudden voice from behind him. "Kouji, what are you doing here? I thought the guys were on a raid?"

"Yeah, but we got back early. Not much to sack." Kouji plopped down beside him, exhausted from trying to get up on the roof. "Damn it Genrou, you're acting real weird. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing! I'm #%$ing fine! What would make ya think anything's wrong?"

Kouji stared at him, his eyes boring into his friend like ice drills. "Don't #$^# with me, Genrou, I know you too well. You've been acting weird ever since you got back from hanging out with those Seishi friends of yours. So don't tell me nothing's wrong."

Tasuki sighed and thumbed his tessen absentmindedly. Kouji noticed this and frowned.

"You miss them."

Tasuki said nothing.

Kouji sighed. "Listen, Genrou, I thought you said that most of them died, so why dwell on them? They're most likely living nice lives now, having been re-born."

"Not all of them are dead."

"Yeah, that blue haired freak and the girl and her lover are still alive, you told me, but I thought you said there was no way of finding them."

Tasuki glared at Kouji. "Hey, don't #$%^ing insult Chichiri! He was a good friend! And I never said there was no way to find him."

"You said he wandered about, and no one ever knew where he went."

"That doesn't mean I couldn't find him if I wanted to."

Kouji stared at his friend, realizing there was little use talking to him. He seemed to have made up his mind already. "Well if you're going to go find him, then go do it. I hate seeing you mope around here doing nothing, If you aren't going to help up on our raids, then leave. You can't get free food here, ya gotta work for it, Genrou." Kouji put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I think you caught some of that monk's wanderlust. Walk it off, and when it's gone you're welcome back here, ok?"

Tasuki stared at Kouji in blank astonishment. "You're throwing me out?" He stood up, anger flashing in his eyes. "You're #$%^ing throwing me out, aren't you?"

Kouji stood and gazed at him evenly. "It's been three months since you came back, Genrou, and you haven't gone out on more than two raids! You just sit up here and sulk all day! There's no room for people who don't earn their meals here! You know that I'd never do anything to hurt you, but if you are gonna be this way, then ya gotta leave, I'm sorry. I can't make exceptions for friends, you know that."

Tasuki felt a pent up rage begin to surface from deep down inside him. It took all his strength to keep from whipping his tessen arm across his chest. He couldn't believe this! _His best friend, tossing him out!_

_$%^&$ him! He didn't need him anyway._ "Fine, Kouji! I'll go, but I'm warning you, you haven't seen the last of Genrou!"

Kouji watched as his friend leapt off the roof and disappeared into the dark without even gathering his belongings before leaving. Sighing, he shook his head and headed back towards the main building, wondering if he had done the right thing. 

* * *

><p><strong>DAMN HIM ANYWAY!<strong> _Why the hell did his best friend betray him! Things had been great, and suddenly when he least expected it...BOOM...it was over. Don't worry Kouji, I'll be back...but be ready for me!_ He thought angrily, as he forced his way through the thick brush tearing at his overcoat like jagged fingers.

The moon was out brightly, flooding the forest with an unearthly light that provided enough illumination to see his way on the path. As he forced his way thorough the brush attempting to get as far away as he possibly could from Mt. Leikaku, he realized how stupid he had been not even bringing a blanket or food with him.

Shivering, he slowed and rested against a tree, staring up at the starry sky in despair. As he watched the sky, a dark cloud covered the moon, casting the world in darkness, and he realized then that it was going to snow.

_Of all the #$^% days for this to happen!_ He sighed and began to walk in search of shelter. Several hours later, as the snow began to fall on the desolate bandit, he saw a fire in the distance. Wiping his nose, _I'm catching a cold,_ he headed in that direction, hoping the person would be willing to let him share the fire.

As he approached, he saw the form of a man wrapped in a warm cloak bending over the fire stirring something in a pot. Staggering haphazardly towards the hopeful warmth, Tasuki managed to reach the fire, and weakly, chattering from cold and hunger, croaked out, "Excuse me..." before falling to the snow-covered ground unconscious, the world black and silent. 

* * *

><p>Everything seemed to be running slowly through his mind. He felt warm and his thoughts drifted lazily. He could see vague images drift through his vision, like ghosts in the clouds of an early morning fog. Sound seemed muffled and came to him echoing like distant memories trapped in a deep crevice.<p>

As his eyes opened, he could make out a dim glow from the firelight, flickering on the edge of his vision. Feeling groggy, he turned his head and saw a vague shape of someone sitting across from him. Then he saw a blur as the person rose and knelt next to him, forcing him to lie down again.

"Don't try to get up yet," a soft voice gently told him, "You've been thorough a lot and need to rest for a while."

That voice seemed familiar, familiar to make Tasuki dig deep down into the recesses of his memory to find out who it was. _Where have I heard that voice before?_ He knew he had, many times, yet he was unsure. There was a difference in that voice, it seemed different than he last remembered it to be. But where?

The person seated himself next to Tasuki and leaned over with some water. Gratefully, Tasuki drank it, feeling the liquid calm his parched lips, enabling him to speak again.

"Who are you? Where am I? What happened?"

The person paused, and seemed to stare at him hard. Then after an eternity, he spoke. "You don't recognize me?"

Squinting up at the figure, Tasuki could barely make out the narrow features, the gentle gaze, and the ludicrous fringe of hair falling down over his face.

"Chi...Chichiri? Is it you?"

Chichiri smiled and set the water back down on the ground. "I think you hit your head harder than I thought, Tasuki-kun."

"No, I..." _Why was he making excuses?_ "I just didn't...that is...what happened to your 'no da's'?"

Chichiri smiled quietly, and Tasuki realized what had seemed different about his friend. His voice wasn't the high pitched cute whine Tasuki had remembered, it was his more serious voice, the one he used when he wasn't wearing his mask. Yet, Chichiri was wearing his mask currently, so why was he so serious?

"You feeling better Tasuki-kun?"

"You're avoiding my question!"

Chichiri turned to him, a frown on his face. "Please Tasuki, don't ask me that now. Ask later, neh?"

_What the hell...?_ "Ok, sure." Tasuki scowled at the monk's back as he rose to tend something on the fire. _What the hell was wrong with him? He was being too serious all of a sudden, something had happened in these past few months._

Sitting up, Tasuki felt the cold air hit him like a wall of ice._Geeze!_ Glancing at his fellow Seishi, he realized Chichiri must be freezing cold. _He wasn't even wearing his...Oh._

Glancing down, he realized with some shock that he was wearing Chichiri's kesa. It was wrapped around him, forming a blanket to keep him warm, and was doing a good job too, but...

He saw Chichiri try to hide a sneeze behind his mask, and small subtle things could be noticed about him. His shoulders were hunched slightly with chill, and Tasuki could see the way the mage clenched the spoon in the soup kettle tightly.

"Oi, how long have you been freezing your $%% off Chichiri?" He bunched the kesa up and threw it at him. "Put it on for crying out loud! You're freezing!"

Surprised, Chichiri picked his kesa up and stared at Tasuki. "You're sick Tasuki, you need this more than I do now."

"$%&* that! You're full of it Chichiri." He slowly got up, aware of his weak limbs, faint from hunger. He felt a bit refreshed after sleeping warm under the mage's cloak. Stretching, he grabbed the bowl out of the monk's hand and spooned a ladle of soup into the bowl. Plopping down in the snow by the fire, he promptly began wolfing his meal down, while the mage tried to hide a smile.

"So, how've you been, Chichiri? Haven't seen you for a while."

The mage seated himself beside Tasuki in front of the fire, snuggling down into his kesa for warmth. He stared absentmindedly into the warm flames for an eternity.

Tasuki paused eating, and glared at him. "Ya aren't' one for conversation today, are ya?"

The monk sighed. "Gomen nasai, Tasuki. I've been through a lot recently...there's a lot of things on my mind."

_Maybe I should drop the subject,_ Tasuki thought frowning, _he seems too out of it though...I need to know what happened these last few months for him to be so melancholy!_

"So what's on your mind?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Why the %^&* not? Make ya feel better to share it."

Chichiri turned to Tasuki and seemed to watch him with a wistful gaze. "Maybe you're right no daa, but..." He glanced into the fire again, "I don't want you to get involved. It's a personal matter."

Now Tasuki was sure something was wrong...but what? "OK, fine, if you don't want to talk about it...but it'll eat ya up inside, ya know."

Chichiri said nothing, continuing to stare into the fire absentmindedly.

Tasuki finished his soup, feeling his strength return to him once again, like a warm feeling inside of him. Setting the bowl down, he sighed at the uncomfortable silence. _There was definitely something wrong with Chichiri! The mage was usually so cheerful, and now it seemed that some hopeless depression had set in._

"Ok, I've had enough." Grabbing the mage's shirt with his fist, he yanked the monk to his feet. "You're $%^*ing getting me depressed now! Either cheer up, or tell me WHAT THE %^&* IS GOING ON!"

Chichiri's mouth was open in surprise at the bandits sudden outburst, and he seemed as if he wanted to say something, but then smothered it. Staring at Tasuki, Chichiri let out a long sigh. "All right! Just put me down. You're ripping my shirt no daa."

Tasuki set him down, and plopped back down in the snow with a snort. "You're too easily swayed, Chich!"

Chichiri sat down again and sighed, he seemed to do alot of that recently, Tasuki thought. After what seemed to be hours, he spoke. "Things were going well for me after the battle was over those three months ago. When I last saw you, Tasuki, I was convinced that my life was going to take a different turn, now that I had confronted my fears and guilt about Hikou. But after a month, I...well something happened."

Tasuki had the impression that the mage was trying to hold something back from him.

"I decided to visit the place where my village had stood, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had rebuilt it. I even ran into some people I had known when I was younger. It felt good going back home at long last, and I thought that I would be happier from now on..." Chichiri stopped and was silent for a long time, thinking and visualizing those days in his mind. "Seeing the children run about, laughing, seemed so...real to me. I walked around and saw all the spots I remembered from my childhood, everything..."

Tasuki knew what he was thinking about now, that incident on the river.

"But when I did that, I recalled something that I had forgotten long ago...something I thought I would never forget."

Tasuki could see the pain written on his friend's face, and he could see the beginning of tears forming at the edge of his mask. 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Rewards of Dilligence_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

**_Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Yuu Watase, so don't sue me._**

* * *

><p><em>What could have come over him so suddenly?<em>Tasuki rarely saw Chichiri this distraught. The calm monk rarely lost his composure, and Tasuki had only seen him cry a few times.

"Come on, Chichiri. Here take this." He offered him a shred of cloth to wipe his eyes with. Chichiri silently accepted it and tore his mask off. Tasuki was surprised to see the mage's face was puffed and red from lack of sleep and from his tears. Geeze, this is serious, he thought.

"Arigatoo, Tasuki." The mage seemed a bit better now. He took a deep breath and turned to face Tasuki. Tasuki could see the agony written on his face, and the poor mage seemed to have aged overnight. "When I returned to my village, I took the time to go up to the graveyard to see if some of my family and friends were buried there. Sure enough, I found my family's grave, and my name was written there too...Apparently they never found most of the bodies after the flood and assumed anyone missing to be dead.

"Of course I hadn't expected to see my own name written there, but I had known my family was gone. But that isn't what hit me the hardest...

"I found...Hikou and Kourin's grave...and what was written on her..." The mage stopped, too choked up for words. Tasuki patiently waited until he could continue. "It said," he whispered, "That she had committed suicide after believing I was dead."

Tasuki stared at his friend, now understanding why he was so melancholy. _Yet another way to blame himself..._

"HEY! Don't go in that direction, Chichiri! Damnit! You are gonna let that haunt ya now, aren't you? Don't let it, there's nothing you could have done, nothing unless you could go back in time and stop her!"

Chichiri looked up at Tasuki with sudden anger reflected on his usually calm face. "**You don't think I don't know that!**"

Taken aback, Tasuki put his hands up in a gesture of surrender, and Chichiri sighed. "I'm sorry Tasuki, I didn't mean to snap at you."

"Hey, it's ok, you've been through a lot, neh? But I think you have a little problem with letting yourself force all the blame on what you did, when there was nothing you could have done, and nothing you can do now to change that!"

"I know, I know..." Chichiri shook his head, "I seem to do that a lot, don't I?"

"Yeah."

The sun was finally creeping up, breaking through the dismal clouds, and casting warm rays on their backs. Silent as ever, the stillness of the morning was broken by a sudden piercing shriek that echoed over the mountains and caused the two seishi to look up surprised.

"What the hell...?"

"That sounds familiar no daa..."

Suddenly the two were surrounded in a fierce bright red glow that suddenly swept down from the sky like a comet, enveloping them in it's crimson fire, and illuminating the entire area.

Chichiri was too startled to cry out, as he felt a strange rush of energy flood his body and then a sleepiness overcame his mind. As time seemed to slow, he wondered why he seemed to never be able to escape things like this. _[maniacal sniggering from author]_

Tasuki struggled to escape the red glow, but found him unable to move his limbs, and cursed angrily under his breath as he felt his consciousness slipping away, wondering the same thing as Chichiri was.

_[more maniacal sniggering]_

* * *

><p>The evening stillness was suddenly broken by an explosion of crimson light that flooded the surrounding hillsides in brilliance. The youth stared up startled as he gazed at the enigma, wondering in fear what it was. As the light died down, he shakily stood up from where he had been sitting beneath the willow tree outside his home. Gazing out at the hills where the glow had originated, he decided to take a look.<p>

"Honey...what was that?"

"I don't know mother, I'm going to check it out!"

"All right, but be careful!"

"Hai!" He dashed off, wondering if it would be dangerous or not.

As he ran up the incline, puffing, he realized he could have at least brought a weapon or something. But since he was usually not used to carrying a weapon around, there was no sense in grabbing one now.

Puffing, he reached the crest of the hill and stared down into the valley. Lying on the road were two figures, bathed in a crimson light, something like lightning flickering around them.

"What the...?"

Cautiously, he crept down the hill, approaching the two.

Suddenly he heard a groan emanate from the one on the bottom.

Realizing they could be hurt, he threw all caution aside and bent down to help the guy push the unconscious body of his fellow off him.

"Hey, are you all right?"

The man he was helping sit up looked slightly miffed, and he was cradling his left arm protectively.

"#$%^&$%$#!" The youth was shocked to hear him swear so profusely! "Damn it, I must have broken my $%^& arm!"

"A...Ano..."

The man looked at him. "Yeah, I'll be ok..."

Glancing at the man's wounded arm , he realized it was broken, pretty badly too. "Hey, you need to get that tended to...how's your...um...friend?"

The man, suddenly alarmed by this, turned and stared down at the other figure. "Oi, Chichiri? Hey, you ok?" He prodded the figure with his good arm, and sighed. "Guess he's out of it."

"Why don't you two come on back to my home, my mother is skilled in treating wounds, so she could help you. It's going to rain soon, and you don't want to be caught out here after dark nowadays."

"Yeah, sure." Grunting, the man stood and winced as he jostled his arm. Bending down he grabbed a hold of Chichiri's arm. "Gimme a hand with him will ya?"

They both lifted the unconscious mage up and the man grabbed some sort of a staff lying on the ground. Then they haltingly began limping up the hill, dragging Chichiri between them.

"So, what happened? Were you attacked? What was that red glow?"

"Umm, well, we weren't attacked, we were transported here..."

"Transported?" Puff, puff.

"Yeah, but by whom we don't know...at least I don't. Chichiri might though."

"What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Tasuki."

There was an ominous clap of thunder that drowned out the youth's introduction.

They barely made it to the house before the rain began pounding the ground viciously. Bursting in through the door, the youth cried out, "Mother! We have some wounded travelers!"

A rather pretty middle aged woman hurried in from the kitchen where a savory dish was cooking. "Oh my! Hurry, put him on the floor over here!" She quickly began rummaging through some things in the corner, and hurried over with some ointment and rags. "Go and fill a bucket full of warm water."

"Hai, mother."

Tasuki sat down beside Chichiri as the woman began inspecting his friend's injury.

"Oh, this isn't' that serious of a wound." She began ripping fabric to bandage it with while dabbing at the wound with the ointment. "Seems he just nicked his forehead a bit." The boy came back with the water and she sent him off to mind supper while she cleaned the wounds.

She finished bandaging Chichiri's head, and moved to Tasuki. "You two sure are banged up! What in the world happened?"

Tasuki winced as the bandage was wrapped around his arm. "Uhh, we were transported here all of a sudden."

She looked up puzzled. "Transported?"

"Yeah, though I don't know who brought us here, or even where here is..."

"Well, you're outside the village of Tendai, in the Northern Mountains of Konan Country."

Tasuki frowned as she finished bandaging his arm. "Why the hell are we here then? Is this another damn plot of Suzaku's to mess up our lives?"

"Suzaku?" The woman was staring at him in astonishment. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we're Suzaku Shichiseishi..."

"Oh my goodness!" She immediately was bowing before him. "I had no idea! Forgive me for not recognizing you!"

Tasuki grimaced. "Hey, stop that! It's no big deal! No need to make a big fuss over it..."

"It is our honor to host such renowned people! Please feel free to stay here as long as necessary! We are honored to be able to house such important people."

"Yeah, well once we figure out what's going on we'll probably go on home, but thanks."

"Honey," She stood and glanced back into the kitchen, "How's dinner coming along?"

"Almost done mother." The boy wandered out into the main room holding a rag. Tasuki glanced up and suddenly felt his blood freeze and he realized with sudden shock that he recognized the boy.

The youth wandered over to the unconscious monk and stared at him in surprise. "Hey, he could almost pass as my older brother or something!"

"Yes, I noticed that as well..."

Tasuki cleared his throat quickly. "Well, I, um, think he did grow up in this area so maybe he's like a distant relative or something..."

The others seemed to be satisfied with this and nodded. Tasuki swallowed nervously and wondered how his friend would react upon waking up... 


	3. Chapter 3

**_Rewards of Dilligence_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

**Standard Disclaimer** _All characters are product of Watase Yuu, don't sue no da._

* * *

><p>Tasuki could only wonder what his friend would think upon waking up...<p>

The woman slowly got up from the floor and sighed. "Well, let me know when he wakes up so I can finish dinner up." She stood and brushed herself off. "Hou, come help me prepare the meal."

"Hai."

As the youth left the room, Tasuki let out a big breath. _Whoa, Chichiri's gonna have a heart attack at this!_ He stared down at the unconsious monk with a look of sadness in his eyes. _Boy, with what he's been through I wouldn't be surprised if he fained dead away again!_

As he thought this, he caught a movement from his friend as his eyes quivered slightly.

"Oi, Chichiri? You awake?"

As if in reply, the mage opened his eye. Tasuki leaned over and grinned at him insolently. He was rewarded with a faint smile from Chichiri's lips as the mage slowly raised a hand to his bandaged head.

"Mmm, what happened na no da?"

"Remember that red light?" Nod. "Well, we ended up here...um, Chichiri, there's something you should know before you meet our hosts..."

Suddenly, as if to emphisize the point, a voice sounded in from the other room. "Oi, is he awake yet, Tasuki-sama?" And the youth's head poked in from around the corner of the doorway. "Ah! I see he is. How are you feeling?"

Tasuki roughly elbowed Chichiri, who was staring as if he had seen a ghost, the color drained from his cheeks, and his eye bulging from it's socket.

"Umm, he's feeling much better, aren't ya monk boy?" Tasuki glared at him and murmured underneath his breath, "Snap out of it! He'll suspect something, damnit!"

Swallowing hard, Chichiri quickly cleared his throat, despite the rising feeling of ultimate terror and fear threatning to overwhelm him. "Ahh, yes, no da. Much better, thank you no da."

"Great! Then why don't you come on in for dinner, then." He smiled. "I'm glad your feeling better, you look like you've had a rough time!"

"Uhh, yeah." _You have no idea,_ Chichiri thought staring at the young blue haired youth as he went into the other room.

"Whew!" Tasuki breathed. "Hey, you took it better than I though you would!" He looked at his friend, who had buried his face in his hands and was breathing deeply. "Hey, you OK?"

**"OK!"** Chichiri whispered harshly. "Goddamnit!"

Startled beyond words, Tasuki gaped at the monk in surprise. Never, had he heard the monk swear before!

Chichiri glanced up at him. "You think this is easy?" He shuddered suddenly, as if a cold breeze had wafted into the room. "It's like looking into a mirror that shows a distorted image of yourself!"

"OK, OK, so it's not too easy...but you gotta get a hold of yourself before you go and say something stupid! I mean, what would happen if they found out the truth? It might screw up history or something."

Chichiri moaned softly. "I don't believe this."

"Hey, cheer up! I mean, look at it this way, maybe you can go and stop that whole thing from..." Tasuki suddenly found himself dangling from the monk's grip on his shirt about five feet off the floor.

_"Don't even think about it!"_ Chichiri hissed viciously. "Do you realize what would happen if we started messing things up? Think about it, Tasuki! The entire relm we know could be altered!"

"What do you mean? Yeah it could be altered, in your favor!"

**"NO!"** It might not be! Sure I might not get in a fight with Hikou, I might marry Kourin, and I might have a happier life, but then I would never have gone to train at Taisu-kun's, and I might not have had the knowlege and experience that I do now! Think of all the times I used my power to get people out of trouble, including yourself Tasuki! That might never happen if we did something like that!"

Tasuki stared at the mage, his eyes widening in surprise. _He's right! He might have had a rough youth, but without all that happening, we might not have won against Seriyuu even!_Chichiri lowered Tasuki to the floor, the fire leaving his eye. "Just...don't say anything stupid, neh Tasuki? I don't want to have to try and explain things like that." Chichiri seemed to deflate. "I don't believe this is happening!"

The boy stuck his head in again. "Hey, you two coming?"

They glanced at each other. "Uhh, yeah, sure we're coming." Tasuki stood up and helped Chichiri stand up, then they followed the boy into the room."Ahh!" The woman serving rice looked up smiling. "I'm so glad you're awake! How are you feeling, Chichiri-sama?"

Chichiri smiled and nodded politely. "Much better, thank you no da! I am greatful for your generocity in extending your hospitality to us no da." The mage was extremely good at acting, Tasuki realized.

She smiled. "No problem at all! We are honored to have such distinguished guests, aren't we Houjun?"  
>Tasuki saw Chichiri flinch slightly at the mention of his personal name. <em>HMM, he's gonna have to catch that...<em>

"Hai, okaasan! Suzaku Shichiseishi! It is a great honor to have you both here! I never thought we would ever get to meet them, not ever here in our house!" His smile was bright and his face flushed. Tasuki couldn't help thinking what he would say if he knew that he himself was a Seishi...

"Yes indeed! But enough! The food will get cold, let our guests eat, Houjun!"

They began the meal, and Chichiri closed his eye remembering the wonderful savory taste of his mother's cooking..._Oh how he missed it!_

The meal went wonderfully, memories flooded back into him, like lost clouds drifting away from the misty mountain. Naturally, though the feeling was a good one, he began to feel lonely, missing his mother, his family, everyone...

"So, Chichiri-sama, if you pardon me asking, how did you happen to get that scar of yours?"

Chichiri practically choaked on his food at that sudden question, and Tasuki had to pound him roughly on the back before he could get a hold on himself.

"I...um...would rather not discuss it, if that's alright no da."

Tasuki was barely able to keep his face straight. Though the topic had been a very serious one, the look on Chichiri's face had been quite unforgettable.

Young Houjun looked even more curious, but they did not pursue the matter further.

After finishing eating, chatting about where they were from, their lives, and what being a seishi was like, it became more and more difficult to evade their queries without sounding like they were evading them. By the end of the meal, Tasuki had a very large bruise on his knee, and was grumbling rather tersly under his breath about doing something unappropriate to his companion...

With full stomachs and full minds, their hosts then showed them to mats where they could sleep for the night, and feeling exhausted and drained from the day's excursions, they promptly fell asleep. The red-headed one dreaming of how mixed up his life was at that time, from living at Mt. Leikaku to meeting Chichiri, to ending up getting thrown back about 8 years into the past...The blue haired one was experiencing conflicting emotions of excitement of seeing his family again, and having to face his past one more time. 


	4. Chapter 4

**_Rewards of Dilligence_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><strong>Standard Disclaimer:<strong>_ All characters belong to Yuu Watase, I didn't make them, so don't sue me._

* * *

><p>Slowly waking up from a deep sleep, Tasuki opened his sleep laden eyes, and stared up at the celing. <em>So it wasn't all a dream...<em> Groaning, he hauled himself out of the futon, and stared blearily at the empty and neatly made one next to his. _Where the hell did he go so early in the #$%% morning?_

The morning had dawned fresh and crisp, and the dew was fresh in the grass. Sitting by an old willow tree, Chichiri stared out at the rising sun with a wistful expression on his face. _It's been a long time,_ he thought sadly. _Why have we been sent back here? I thought I would not have to face this again, and then, here we are again._

He heard a sudden rustling in the wet grass behind him, and turned his head to see Houjun making his way up the hill behind him. Giving the mage a wide grin, the boy plopped down beside him. "Mind if I join you?"

Smiling in sudden rememberance of the many morinings he spent as a boy watching the surise in this very spot, he nodded and turned his gaze back out to the distant mountains.

"It's beautiful, neh?" Young Houjun leaned back against the tree's trunk and gave a contented sigh. "I always come up here in the mornings. It's just so...pristine to waste."

Chichiri gazed on Houjun's face. _Did I ever look like that?_

"So...did you sleep well last night?" Houjun turned his gaze to the mage, and hastily avoided looking at his damaged eye.

Chichiri saw this and sighed internally. _Get used to it Houjun, you will have to bear it soon enough._ "Yes, I slept quite well no da."

"That's good to hear, you two must have been through quite an adventure last night..." He turned and stared Chichiri straight in the face. "Umm, I have something to ask you..."

_Here it comes_ Chichiri thought reluctantly.

"...well, it's like this...I want to ask someone if she'll marry me, and I'm not sure how she feels about me. I mean, she, my best friend, and I have been friends since we were little kids, and we are so close that we could never be seperated, you know. But...I've fallen in love with her, and I'd like to tell her that. You seem to be someone who gives advice and all, so I thought maybe you can help me out."

Chichiri was slightly taken aback by that sudden out burst. That was certainly the last thing he had expected himself to ask. Furiously thinking, as to not look like he was stalling he wondered what was the best way to go about answering this. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke. "It seems like the best thing to do is to do what you feel is right no da."

Houjun looked puzzled. "But, how am I supposed to ask her? I mean, I've never done this sort of thing before, fall in love that is."

Chichiri smiled at him. "Do what you feel is right no da. Proposing to someone is usually a romantic affair, so...find somewhere that you both are attached to and propose to her in some sweet romantic manner no da."

"So you think I should propose to her?"

"Hai, if that is what you want to do, then don't let anything stop you no da."

Houjun lowered his head suddenly. "But what of my friend, Hikou? What if he gets jealous or something? What should I do then?"

Chichiri suddenly felt rather faint.

"Oi, whatcha all doing up here?"

Chichiri felt an enormous sense of relief flood his mind as Tasuki poked his head from behind the tree's trunk.

"Don't tell me you're enjoying all this nature stuff, Chich." The red haired bandit plopped down on the other side of Chichiri. Grinning insolently, he elbowed Chichiri in the side and whispered quietly in his ear, "Though ya might like to get outa that one."

Chichiri gave him a relieved glance and murmered back, "How did you know no da?"

Tasuki just grinned back. "Hey, I was interested in what you were gonna tell him! After you told me all about that paradox stuff..."

Chichiri just glared at him.

"So, Tasuki-sama, did you have a restful sleep?" Houjun smiled warmly at him.

Leaning back with his arms behind his head, Tasuki closed his eyes, letting the morning sun fall on his face. "Yeah, actually I did."

"That's great. I hope you guys will enjoy staying here for a while. In a month is the Star Festival, it's a great carnival that is put on by all the neighboring villages once a year...it's a spectacular event!"

Tasuki saw Chichiri's face soften a little bit, as he remembered the wonderful times that he, Hikou, and Kourin had had during that festival...

Houjun continued talking all about the wonderful times he had experienced during the festival in previous years, and both seishi's thoughts drifted off, in different directions, as he spun the many tales of his childhood. After a while, Houjun got up and announced it would be breakfast time soon, and then took his leave down the hill. Tasuki and Chichiri remained there for a little bit.

"So, how're you doing Chichiri? Ya surviving this little 'incident'?"

Chichiri sighed and fiddled with his staff. "Hai, dakara, musukashii desu no da..."

Tasuki nodded and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, if you need to vent frustrations or anything, I'll be willing to listen. So long as you don't beat the crap outta me like Tamahome does..."

That brought a small smile from Chichiri.

"Hey," He stood up slowly, "We better get down there or we'll miss breakfast! C'mon!" The bandit offered a hand to the mage, and Chichiri took it, bringing himself to his feet. The two made their way down to the house. On the way, Chichiri wondered once again, why it was that he had been sent back here... 

* * *

><p>The town was bustling and busy, as usual. Many people crowded the streets, selling items, barganing, bartering, and buying the many goods displayed in the central square. For a small town, with only one main street, it seemed just as busy as the capitol.<p>

Glancing around, Tasuki saw the many colorful silks, the fragrent foods, and helpful tools and products that were available to the buyer. _Hmm, pretty good stuff!_ He had never seen anything quite as exotic and different in any town he had been to before, and this one seemed to hold a special feeling, one he rather enjoyed.

Chichiri smiled, as he gazed around at the various things scattered about the plaza. _How long has it been since I've been here? Much too long..._ He gazed at the familiar signs in the shop windows, the friendly air of the people around him, and the overally family oriented atmosphere that pervaded the town. _Yes, it's good to be back..._

"Hey, wait here will you guys?" Houjun ran off into a shop to see something leaving the seishi stanging in the square by themselves admist the bustling people.

Tasuki scratched at his arm re-arranging the silks to be more comfortable. "Geeze, this stuff itches! Remind me again why we can't wear our regular clothing?"

Chichiri smiled and glanced down at his own clothes. He had been able to borrow some of Houjun's robes to use, unlike Tasuki who had to wear Houjun's fathers' old robes since he was more broad in the shoulders. "It's because we don't want to bring too much attention to ourselves, Tasuki-kun no da. Remember, in this time we are young still, and many may not believe in Suzaku, since there has been no summoning of the Four Gods for many years now no da. It would be best to keep a low definition as long as we must stay here no da."

"Yeah, but I'm the one who hasta wear the old moldy robe, while you get the nicer one!"

"Be respectful to that robe, Tasuki-kun no da. That was my fathers' no da."

"Sorry." He mumbled. "But it still smells!"

Suddenly, Chichiri felt a pair of hands grab him from behind. In astonishment, and surprise, he stiffened as a soft voice spoke to him. "Good morning Houjun."

Tasuki saw the look on Chichiri's face, and glanced back to see a young girl with her arms around Chichiri's waist, her head leaning on his back. "What? No good morning kiss?"

Just then, Houjun came out from the store carrying some bread and saw them. His eyes slightly widened, then he put a hand to his mouth keeping a giggle back. Jogging down the stairs, he spoke in a bright voice, "Good morning, Kourin, Hikou. Wonderful day isn't it? I see you've met Chichiri and Tasuki!"

Looking up startled, Kouring turned her glance from Chichiri back to Houjun, and quickly released Chichiri's waist flushing embarressed. "Go...gomen!"

Laughing, Houjun shook his head finding that situation very hilarious, and clapped Chichiri on the back. "You're not trying to steal my girlfriend, are you Chichiri-sama?"

Turning, very red-faced, Chichiri glanced down at his fiencee who was staring at him open mouthed, and Hikou who looked quite amused at this new development. "Ahh, I wouldn't do that, Houjun-san no da." Putting a polite face on, he offered a hand to the two newcomers. "But it is a...pleasure to meet you no da."

Hikou shook his hand firmly. "Wow, from the back you looked just like Hou-chan! Even I was fooled!" He grinned and swiftly tried to avoid glancing at the scar on Chichiri's face. "I'm Hikou, Houjun's friend. And this here's Kourin. She's glad to meet you too, I think." A mischivious smile played on Hikou's lips as he tried not to burst out laughing.

Nervously, she accepted Chichiri's hand as they greeted each other. "I'm sorry for that little mistake...I truly thought you were Houjun. You...look quite like him, even from the front...a bit..." She blushed and looked at Houjun. "Neh?"

Laughing he nodded, and Chichiri just blushed some more, before turning away. "Well, many people have told me that no da."

Breaking out in laughter, the five companions made their way down the street, laughing and sharing the warm day with pleasure and fun... 


	5. Chapter 5

**_Rewards of Dilligence_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Standard Disclaimer:<em>**_ Fushigi Yuugi and it's characters belong to Watase Yuu, not me so don't sue me._

* * *

><p>As the group made their way down the crowded street, Tasuki found himself glancing around for a reprieve from the endlessly dull chatter of the "happy threesome". <em>Man! How can Chichiri bear this much sweetness?<em>

Suddenly, somehting caught his eye. _Eh? What's this? Ahhh, a tavern!_ Throwing a quick glance at the others, Tasuki slowly crept away, and meandered down the alley before the others could notice he was gone.

Grinning to himself, envisioning a nice pitcher of sake, Tasuki chuckled. "Heh, they won't notice I'm gone, I'll just pop on in, have a drink, then catch up before they notice I'm gone!" Enthrilled with himself, he headed toward the tavern when he suddenly noticed something happening towards the rear of the alley.

There were a bunch of burly men surrounding someone who was cringing against a wall.

"Ok, you little *^&(), this is it! That's the last time you're gonna *&%$ with us! You'll regret even being put on this earth before we're through with you!" Tasuki watched as the men reacted to something the person inside the ring of thugs said and they began laughing. "Is that so? Well then, let's not delay your arriving at the pearly gates anymore shall we?" And with that the thugs began to throw kicks, punches, and attacks to the figure in the ring. Tasuki could hear muttered curses turn into crys of pain as they continued assaulting the peson, and he couldn't put up with it anymore.

"LEKKA..." The thugs turned at the voice and had no time to move as Tasuki's arm whipped out. "...SHINEN!"

Tasuki shouldered the tessen and took a look at his work with a smirk on his face. The person cringing glanced up, survaying the charred bodies scatterd on the pavement, then quickly stared up at Tasuki alarmed.

"Che, bunch of guys beating up on one person. Not very honerable or nothing. So, you ok? Figured ya...WHAT THE HELL, YOU'RE A WOMAN!"

Staring up at the firey red-head, the girl scowled at him. "Well what'd ya think I was? A %# man? Geeze, if I was a guy I wouldn't have needed your help!"

Just as Tasuki was conjuring up a response, Chichiri and the others burst around the courner of the alleyway panting hard. "Tasuki-kun no da! Daijobu? I felt your ki go off...ano, what happened no da?"

Tasuki slid the tessen into it's holder. "Awww, just some thugs beating a girl up. No biggie."

"Is that so na no da."Chichiri lowered his staff, and walked over to the girl and bend down. "Let me see your injury na no da." He examined her side as she clutched it in pain, and then put his hand up to it gently, and murmerd a spell. "There, that should do it na no da. But you must get it bandaged so that it can heal properly no da. If you don't then the bones will seperate agian, all I did was to place a bonding spell on them, so when you get back home you need to get it wrapped and not move too much na no da."

She looked up at him with respect in her eyes, then looked down ashamed. "I...have no where to go..."

Tasuki blinked and frowned in annoyment. "Whatdda ya mean ya got no place to go?"

She shot a fierce look up to him. "I mean I have no place to go, fang boy! I was working for these men to make some money, only they didn't like what I was doing so decided to take it out on me again, and this time I couldn't stand it anymore so I fought back. Now I have to go and find another job so I can afford to pay for an inn!

Chichiri gazed down at her with sadness in his eye. "So you have no where to go no da?"

She stared at her feet, a look of embarressment written on her face. "That's right. Geeze, if those guys had managed to kill me I might have been better off." She looked up, a look of respect in her eyes. "But thanks to him, " nodding towards Tasuki, "I lived."

Tasuki saw Chichiri's shoulders jerk as if in shock, then it hit him too. He had saved her life. She would have died if he hadn't stepped in. How would this impact the future?

She turned and faced Tasuki. "I don't know if I like you, but you did save my life. I'm thankful to you for that, and in accordance with the tradition of my people, I would like to remain with you so I might get a chance to repay you for saving my life."

Tasuki looked stunned, but Chichiri elbowed him hard and spoke to him using his chi. _'It would be best for her to stay with us na no da. That way we know she can't influence the future no da. We need to keep an eye on her until we know how your doing this might affect the future no da.'_

Swallowing hard, Tasuki nodded and sighed. "Yeah, sure, since ya got no place to go, guess you have to. If it's ok with Houjun, that is."

"Sure na no-" Tasuki whacked Chichiri before he could finish, and Chichiri slapped a hand over his mouth in shock. The girl eyed him strangely.

Houjun didn't notice this, and smiled. "Yeah, sure it's ok. One more guest will brighten the house up a bit!" Hikou and Kouran nodded and smiled, and the girl brushed her hair back. "My name is Maichie." 

* * *

><p>Chichiri was seated at his usual spot beneath the willow watching the sun rise. It was just as beautiful today as any other day, and he felt at peace here. One place where he could forget his troubles, temporarily anyway.<p>

Relaxing there, he didn't notice her until it was too late.

"May I join you?" It had been several days since their meeting with Maichie, and it was amazing how much better she looked now that she had cleaned up, rested, and eaten properly. Though she still favored her side, it was quite obvious that she was an attactive woman. Chichiri couldn't help but be reminded of Tasuki when he saw her. Not only did she have similar colored hair to the seishi, but her temperment was as firey as Tasuki's was. However, Chichiri noticed there was a distinct difference between them. Maichie was as intuitive as Tasuki was naive.

"Sure no da."

She sat beside him, and silently watched the surise. Chichiri knew something was up, and was itching for her just to say it. Something was making him nervous. Finally, she spoke. "Tasuki-chan was telling me about you."

_Oh great!_ Chichiri thought, wondering what now. _Knowing him, she might know things she shouldn't no da._

"He said that the other Seishi often came to you for advice."

Relief flooded his mind. "Ah, yes they often did no da."

She smiled. "You seem like the type of person to give advice to others. I was wondering if you might help me figure some things out."

Chichiri nodded quietly.

She paused and examined him closely. "If it's not too much to ask, how did you get that scar?"

Surprised, he couldn't help starting a bit. _Where did that come from no da?_ Not knowing what to say, he decided to take the safe approach, be vague. "It happened a long time ago, when I was younger no da."

"And..."

Surprised, he stared at her. She returned his gaze evenly. "Ano...well, I got in a dispute with...my friend."

"Over a girl, right?"

Now he full on stared at her. "How...?"

"Oh come on, it's obvious."

"Ah...sokka."

"You wanted to marry her...this girl...and your friend was jealous."

"Hai"_ How could she know this?_

"So...this altercation happened and you left and became a monk?"

Chichiri said nothing. _How can she know this?_ "Did Tasuki...?"

"No, I figured it out myself." She turned and gazed at the sunlight pouring over the hills. "Yeah, I figured it out all right."

The way she had said it made his blood freeze. He very slowly turned and looked her in the eyes. "You know." It was not a question, it was a fact.

She nodded. "I don't know why no one else figured it out, I mean, it's fairly obvious I would think."

"Is it?"

"Yeah! I meann, come on, it's not just the way you look, but the way your voice sounds, the way you walk, react, and just...well, it's too uncanny. At first I thought that you might be, like, brothers or something, but he seemed surprised when I asked. Then I thought maybe it was just a coincidence, but given the fact that you're a Suzaku Shichiseishi, and given the fact that you guys were probably sent here by Suzaku, it seems too obvious to me. Though I don't quite know how fang boy fits into the scheme of things."

Chichiri was silent for a long time. She sat there patiently waiting for him to respond. When he didn't, she spoke. "I shouldn't know this, should I?"

Chichiri sighed. "Given all that, technically you shouldn't even BE here, you should have died back in that alley, and Tasuki should never have stepped in. However, I understand his position. I would not have been able to watch you being attacked and not do anything about it."

"Guess this messes up the time stream a bit, neh?"

"I don't know. It might, or then again it might not."

"Do you even know why you were sent here?"

"No, we don't. I don't. I had believed that this was all over with, and now..." He paused. "I am forced to face it all over again."

"Life sucks that way. On the other hand, it might work out for the best."

"Nani?"

"You could change events."

He shook his head. "Iie, that would truly disturb the time stream."

"No, baka, I mean in subtle ways, not overtly. Put in some influence where you know it won't be noticed. Don't change events directly, simply manipulate things that won't alter things now, but might be good if you ever return back home."

He stared at her. "That makes little sense."

"Maybe." She stared out at the hills again. "No matter. I won't say anything. But if you need someone to talk to..."

"Hai, domo." He mumbled as she rose and then made her way down the hill.

_Things are just getting more and more complex!_ He thought resting his chin on his knees. _So when is the other shoe going to fall, na no daa...?_


	6. Chapter 6

**_Rewards of Dilligence_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

**_Standard Disclaimer:_**_ I didn't create Fushigi Yuugi, so I'm not taking the credit, don't sue me._

* * *

><p><em>Memories are so precious!<em> Chichiri was wandering along the bank of the river, beginning to show signs of swelling, thinking to himself. _It won't be long now._

* * *

><p>Tasuki was busty polishing his tessen, and Chichiri was challenging Maichie to a game of chess, when suddenly Houjun burst into the house, his face flushed. Everyone stared at him.<p>

"I did it!" His cheeks were bright red and he was gasping for breath.

"Did what?"

"Asked Kouran to marry me!"

There was an awed silence, then congratulations came rapidly pouring out from Tasuki, Maichie, and Houjun's mother. Chichiri smiled, but remained silent, his eye wandering off. Maichie noticed this and paused, realizing the monk knew somehting more.

After some extensive congratulations, the group quieted down and ate a leasurly dinner. Maichie kept glanceing at Chichiri throughout the meal, and Tasuki noticed the mage seemed slightly put out.

After the meal, Tasuki and Maichie left to go someplace, _I have to wonder about those two_Chichiri thought, and Chichiri sat outside and stared up at the stars for a long time before falling asleep gently wrapped in his kesa.

* * *

><p>Tasuki, Maichie, and Chichiri were walking along the river bank, absorbed in talking. The clouds of a storm has moved in suddenly overnight, and were threatning the sky with dismal rumbles, but no rain had fallen yet. The river was swollen and rampid, an ominous sign that it was raining higher up in the mountains.<p>

"So...you two seem to be getting along fine no da."

Tasuki shot the mischivious monk a murderous glare and fairly snapped back at him. "Keep your nose in your own business, monk boy!"

"Speaking of your business..." Maichie asked slowly, causing Chichiri to wince, "...How much longer are you two expected to be here?"

"Che, if we knew that we wouldn't be wandering around like this would we?"

"Just wondering, fang boy. I mean this drama is playing out so great and all. Is something going to go wrong? Chichiri?"

Chichiri sighed and wanered over to the small stone bridge overlooking the chaotic waters. "Yes, and fairly soon. Today."

The other two exchanged glances. "Today?"

"Hai, today." He closed his eye in painful memory. "One of the reasons I wanted to avoid being around myself..."

"Oh." They both murmered.

Chichiri said nothing for a long time, his mind as turbulent as the swirling waters beneath him. _Today...It will happen today. And what can I do? Nothing. I should do nothing. It's not for me to get involved in..._

"Umm, Chichiri?"

He looked up.

Tasuki looked uncomfortable, and glanced behind the mage. "Isn't that your girlfriend over there?"

Glancing up, he saw Kouran running toward the bridge, her long brown hair wild and loose on her shoulders, her dress mud streaked, and her face in tears.

She ran full speed, and they could tell she was really upset as she suddenly tripped headfirst into the mud.

Alarmed, Chichiri ran over to her. and gently helped her into a kneeling position.

Looking up at him through mud streaked tears, she collapsed, sobbing, against his chest.

He sat there, a pained look on his face as he gently held her close to him.

Tasuki and Maichie just stood waiting for her to tell them what had happened. Tasuki noticed a tear slide down Chichiri's cheek. He already knew what she was going to say.

Finally, Kouran seemed to gain a hold of herself, and sat up wiping her tears away, and sniffing softly. "I'm sorry for getting you involved in this, Chichiri."

"It's ok, Kouran, it's ok. Do you want to talk about it?"

She sniffed and nodded. "I...didn't mean to hurt him! It was an accident, I didn't know what I was saying! I just blurted it out, without thinking. My mind was so mixed up I didn't realize...that is..."She broke down again.

Chichiri waited, endlessly patient, as the rain began to sheet down soaking everything around them.

Finally, she gained control again, and began telling them what had happened. "And then," she finished, "...I just couldn't take it! I felt like ending it...just ending it all. I was...naive to believe that...oh, Suzaku, I never wanted to hurt him, but the look on his face! I...I never meant anything! It was innocent, a goodbye kiss from Hikou, but he saw...and misunderstood it...and I wasn't thinking straight at all."

Chichiri gently helped her stand up, and then removed his kesa and wrapped it around her thin shoulders comfortingly. "I...should go and appoligize to him, shouldn't I?"

Chichiri looked ill, and turned his face aside.

"Shouldn't I? I mean, he might be upset and do something rash. I should go back and tell him I'm sorry, that I didn't mean it...right?"

Tasuki and Maichie looked at their feet, finding them very interesting all of a sudden. Chichiri slowly turned back and faced her with a sad expression on his face. "It's...too late."BR  
>"What...?" She whispered hoarsly, when suddenly a scream pierced the air around them and they heard a splash from up river.<p>

Spinning to see what had happened, they spied two distant figures on the shore of the river, one in the turbulent waters, the other desperately holding on to his hand to keep him from being swept away.

Chichiri couldn't watch it again, and turned, his fist clenched tightly at his side, his eye closed painfully. The others watched in horror as they knew what would happen in a matter of seconds.

Then it happened.

Time seemed to slow for Chichiri as he heard a strangled cry escape Kouran's throat and he glanced back just in time to see her lunge forward, he arm stretched out grasping for Hikou's hand as he was carried beneath the bridge. He turned as if in slow motion and jumped forward, just barely catching her slender wrist as she slid over the side of the stone bridge, plunging toward the river and certain death.

As Kouran felt the sturdy jerk that ceased her downward plunge, she looked up, fear and horror flooding her mind after the scene she had just seen. There suspended above her with a desperate look on her face, she suddenly recognized exactly WHO Chichiri was with a shock.

_My God!_ Flashes of the previous event sprung to her mind. The knife. The cliff giving way. The same desperate strained look of determination on Chichiri's face as on her love's as he tried to pull Hikou in from the wild waters. The log. _The log?_ Staring up at him in shock, she suddenly made the dramatic connection.

Chichiri felt his strength going, _It's just like it was then! NO! I won't let it happen again!_ Using all his strenghth, he fought gravity as much as he could, ingoring the pain and the agony his muscles were screaming, and keeping his firm grip on her. Nothing else mattered to him now, only her.

Tasuki saw it happening too late, and rushed forward with Maichie at his heels. They both grabbed onto the mage, but it was too late. The old stones beneath him gave way, sending the four plummeting over the edge of the bridge towards the turbulant waters. The last thing Chichiri realized before the black coldness enfulged him, was that this time...he hadn't let go. 


	7. Chapter 7

**_Rewards of Dilligence_  
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By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
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_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
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_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

**_Standard Disclaimer:_**_ These characters were created by Watase Yuu so don't sue me._

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><p>Her eyes fluttered softly as she came aware to the soft melodies of songbirds, and the gentle rustle of leaves in the wind. Upon opening her eyes, she saw the sunlight wafting through the sweet smelling pink blossoms of the cherry trees above her.<p>

Suddenly, the memories flooded back to her, engulfing her mind with their fierce tendrils. Looking around in panic, she was astonished to find that she didn't recognize her surroundings at all. Suddenly realizing someone was beside her, she glanced down to see Chichiri sprawled on the ground unconsious.

Putting a hand to her mouth in a mixed flurry of fear, wonder, anxiety, and uncertainty, sh stared at the unconsious monk. _He looks so helpless now_ she thought sadly, eying the jagged scar on his face. _I suppose it all makes sense somehow._

She ripped her eyes away from him upon hearing voices in the distance, and spied Tasuki and Maichie coming from over a hill carrying a pile of firewood and kindling. She rose and hesitanlty went to meet them.

They saw her coming. "Oi, Kouran, feeling better?" The trio haulted at the crest of the rise.

She stared at her hands for a minute, then spoke. "What happened?"

Tasuki scratched his head, a baffled look on his face. "Well, that's the funny thing, ya see, one minute we were falling and the next thing I know, I wake up here...back home."

"Back home?" Kouran asked softly, glancing about her.

Tasuki and Maichie exchanged worried glances, then Tasuki wiped it aside with a wave of his hand. "Yeah. Back where 'we'," he indicated himself and the unconsious Chichiri, "...belong."

"Oh." She glanced back towards Chichiri. "He is...I mean...that is..." She paused for a long time. "Houjun...it is him, isn't it?"

Maichie came up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Yep, that he is. Your beloved Houjun, and the Shichiseishi Chichiri are one in the same."

"But...why?"

"Shhh, don't question it, just accept it!"

Kouran sat down next to the two as they kindled a fire to dry off. Her gaze kept shifting back toward Chichiri.

Tasuki noticed this and nudged her. "Oi, here got something fer ya." He produced a small bottle from his coat pocket. "It got left behind here when we were pulled into the past, along with his mask." Tasuki stared at the mask thoughtfully then handed it to her. "I dunno how you feel, but I know he'll never use that stuff," he indicated the bottle, "So why doncha give it to him while he's passed out, if you want to."

Kouran stared at the bottle uncomprehendingly. "What...I don't understand. What is it?"

Tasuki grinned mischiviously. "Just pour it on his left eye."

Kouran stared at him in astonishment. Then looked at the bottle. "Why won't he use it?"

"Aw, he wants to keep the darn thing...to remind him of what he did, he says."

"But if that's the case...then maybe I shouldn't...I mean...I should probably ask him..."

"Nah! He'll say no. Just go do it and he can't get mad at you really."

She slowly rose and headed toward the mage, purpouse riding in evey step. Kneeling down next to him, she gently rolled the mage over onto his back. Taking a long hard look, she suddenly yanked the cork from the bottle and began to tip it.

Like an iron fist, her hand was suddenly clamped in place by Chichiri's stronger one. His one eye gazed up at her, hurt in it.

"No." That's all he said, and upon him saying that, she closed her eyes and nodded in meek defeat.

She understood the pain he must carry, and seeing that pleading look in his eye, she realized that it was not right to do that. She gazed down at him, and smiled, understanding and a shared feeling of that pain in her eyes.

Splash

It was hard to tell who was more shocked, Chichiri or Kouran.

Of course, Tasuki stood above both of them with a huge insolent grin pasted on his face, his fangs shining in the morning light. In his hand he was tossing the bottle up and down...empty. 


End file.
